Born in 1948, Pierre Morey has had an illustrious career in Burgundy — and specifically in the white wine commune of Meursault — that even older, more venerable figures might envy. The family’s heritage in Meursault goes back to the late 18th Century, though the modern history begins in 1937, when August Morey-Genelot, a traveling salesman, was persuaded to return to his family’s roots and take over the domaine, which he ran until 1972, when the young Pierre Morey took over. August had established a relationship en métayage with the estimable Domaine des Comte Lafon, which is to say, a system similar to sharecropping that in the wine world is practically unique to Burgundy. Pierre Morey inherited this arrangement, but, as Clive Coates writes, it “evaporated piece by piece from 1987 onwards as Dominique Lafon took his patrimony back, and has now ceased.” To gain access to Premier and Grand Cru vineyards, in 1990 Morey and his wife Christine founded a negociant company called Morey-Blanc, for which he buys grapes and must (moût in French), that is, the mass of material that comes from the crusher before fermentation takes place; the must includes juice, fragments of stems and seeds, skins and pulp. In addition to running the domaine and the negociant side, Morey was until recently the winemaker for Domaine Leflaive.

Domaine Pierre Morey began using organic methods in 1992 and went to biodynamic practices in 1997. Notice how the principles of biodynamism are described on the domaine’s website:

Respect of the vineyards : Soil work and addition of compost favor the development of the microbial life of the soils and improve the defenses and the health of the vines. The vines become more resistant to the different parasites and diseases. We only use very low doses of products, totally natural, when the time is right.

Respect of the fruit : Carefully looked after during their whole life, healthy and ripe, harvested by hand, the fruit is taken to the place where the winemaking is done : in old, vaulted, Burgundian cellars where the natural yeasts from the vineyard promote the fermentation process.

One does not have to subscribe to the philosophy of biodynamism to agree with the sentiments expressed here. Who would not want to show respect to the vineyards and the fruit the vineyards produce? Who would not want to want to work carefully and thoughtfully in the vineyard and the winery, to keep the soil, the vines and the grapes healthy? (Well, maybe plenty of people, but you know what I mean, people with integrity.) In any case, Pierre Morey is a meticulous farmer and winemaker, and he makes wines of great authority and principle (as well as being often delicious), as you will see from my notes about five of them. Morey, by the way, is sparing with new oak, using only about 25 percent new oak each year.

This is the last post about Burgundy wines tasted at the “Return to Terroir” event that occurred in New York at the end of February. Image of Pierre Morey from bibendum-times.co.uk The wines of Domaine Pierre Morey are imported by Martin Scott, Lake Success, N.Y.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Domaine Pierre Morey Bourgogne Aligoté 2009. This pale straw-gold wine is very pert, bright, spicy and lemony, and it displays that sense of racy tension and nervosity that we want from the aligoté grape, composed of whiplash acidity and scintillating limestone minerality, but nicely balanced by lemon, grapefruit and lime peel flavors slightly enriched by touches of lemon balm and cloves. Bring on the oysters, please, bracing and briny in the shell! 12.5 percent alcohol. Now through 2013. Very Good+. About $17 and well-worth the price.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Domaine Pierre Morey Meursault 2009. The domaine owns 0.86 hectares (about 2.14 acres) of vines, in portions of three well-placed vineyards, in the village of Meursault, well-placed meaning in proximity to Premier Cru vineyards; Morey “village” Meursault is usually a blend of grapes from the three vineyards. Average age of these vines is 29 years. The wine, sporting a radiant mild gold color, offers lovely depth, breadth and balance, cleaved with a kind of clean animation and energy poised with the moderate richness of spicy citrus and stone-fruit scents and flavors. The Pierre Morey Meursault 09 is very dry but juicy and flavorful and delivers a range of nuances from jasmine and honeysuckle in the bouquet to limestone and flint in the long finish. 12.5 percent alcohol. Drink now through 2015 to ’17. Excellent. About $75.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Domaine Pierre Morey Meursault Les Tessons 2007. That’s right, 2007, a stressful vintage in Burgundy, generally
regarded as better for whites than reds, though elegance can be found in both. In any case Morey turned out an intense and pure expression of the chardonnay grape from 0.89 hectares of Les Tessons, largely planted in 1975; this is a very stony vineyard just above the village of Meursault. The wine is quite floral and spicy — whiffs of camellia and cloves — and deeply imbued with lemon, grapefruit and pear flavors supported by earthy, limestone-like minerality and, in the distance, an almost tea-like quality. There’s a sheen of oak, mostly subdued, that adds to the smooth suave texture and the abundantly flinty, spicy, slightly briny finish. 12.5 percent alcohol. Now through 2016 or ’17. Excellent. About $86.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Domaine Pierre Morey Monthelie 2009. The pinot noir grapes for Morey’s Monthelie derive from 1.32 hectares of vines in six lieux-dits, that is, traditional local vineyards below the Premier Cru level. The average age of the vines is 48 years. Monthelie is sandwiched between Volnay on the east and Auxey-Duresses on the west. The (let’s admit it) not very important commune, which surprisingly has 11 Premier Cru vineyards, produces far more red wine than white. Pierre Morey’s Monthelie 2009 is clean, bright and appealing, with sprightly black cherry and red currant flavors, loads of spice and slightly earthy graphite elements, and vibrant acidity that cuts a row on the palate. The finish brings in touches of leather, brambles and slightly mossy forest elements. Quite attractive and drinkable, now through 2014 or ’15. I’m thinking roasted chicken or rabbit fricassee. Very Good+. About $35.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Domaine Pierre Morey Pommard Grands Epenots Premier Cru 2009. Morey owns 0.43 hectares — a hair over one acre — of this 10.15-hectare Premier Cru vineyard. (There is also a Petits Epenots vineyard, which is, paradoxically, about five hectares bigger than Grand Epenots.) The commune of Pommard, with its 28 Premier Cru vineyards, is a few minutes drive south of the city of Beaune. Well, damnit, this is great. The wine is characterized by terrific heft, intensity and concentration, though it’s ultimately elegant and harmonious. The color is medium dark ruby; it takes a couple of minutes for the bouquet to open with notes of ripe and fleshy black cherries, red currants and plums permeated by hints of rose petals, graphite and leather. Smooth and polished tannins bolster earthy and spicy black and red fruit flavors ensconced in a supple, satiny texture whose sense of luxury is rigorously tempered by resolute acidity and a slightly lithic or iron-like element of minerality. The point is the balance and integration among all these qualities. 13 percent alcohol. Drink now through 2019 to ’21. Excellent. About $85.
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